988 Crisis Lifeline Has Received Almost 5 Million Contacts in First Year

Since it was launched in July 2022, the 988 crisis lifeline has received almost 5 million contacts, according to a brief by KFF.

Almost one million of the contacts were from the Veteran’s Crisis Line. The rest consisted of 2.6 million calls, more than 740,000 chats and more than 600,000 texts. National answer rates increased (from 70% to 93%) alongside surges in outreach volume, and wait times decreased.

In-state answer rates vary widely across states, from 55% for Alabama to 98% for Mississippi. The differences may reflect state investments in crisis services, as well as length of investment, the brief notes.

A new poll from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) found most Americans (82%) are still not familiar with 988. “If we collectively want to help people in crisis — and save lives — 988 cannot be the best kept secret,” NAMI Chief Executive Officer Daniel Gillison Jr. said in a news release. “Thankfully, the data show more people are beginning to become aware of this important resource — but not nearly enough.”